Between pumpkin patches, apple orchards, haunted houses or shopping for fall decor and treats, there are multiple fall activities to do in the Malibu and Los Angeles area.
The fall season is special to students who grew up in areas where the seasons and the weather change more than it does in Malibu.
“The trees and vegetation here are just so different,” first-year Abby Rader said. “I make it feel like fall.”
Rader said fall is a very special season to her. She said it is something she cherishes and looks forward to every year.
“My love of fall started with the memory on that pumpkin patch with my favorite people,” Rader said. “Fall reminds me of cozy evenings in Oregon with my grandma.”
Rader said she grew up going to her grandparent’s farm in Portland, Oregon, where her “Oma” would grow pumpkins for her and each of her siblings.
Her grandparent’s farm and apple orchard made fall a nostalgic experience for her, Rader said.
“It’s so heartwarming that she grows a pumpkin specifically for each of us,” Rader said.
Before coming to Pepperdine, Rader said she prepared for an atypical fall season. Moving to Northern California during high school, Rader was accustomed to the difference in seasons.
Rader said she goes all out with fall decorations, goes to Trader Joe’s to get fall treats and does fall activities to make it feel like fall in Malibu.
Senior Hannah Keaton said she went to Underwood Family Farms in Somis, California between Moorpark and Camarillo with her boyfriend, senior Gideon Lee over fall break. Underwood Family Farms had an expansive pumpkin patch, multiple photo-op spots and carnival activities such as ring toss.
Keaton said she and Lee went to the farm for the first time last year and decided to go back because it was too good. She and Lee wanted to find a pumpkin patch that was more than straw on a parking lot, she said.
Going to pumpkin patches reminds Keaton of her home in Princeton, New Jersey, she said.
“In Princeton, the leaves actually changed and it was cold in October,” Keaton said. “It’s so dry here and it’s weird that I’m still able to wear shorts at this time of the year.”
Keaton said her family didn’t celebrate Halloween, so she grew up celebrating the fall season by going to pumpkin patches and fall festivals.
Junior Kristin Coady also went to a pumpkin patch over fall break. Coady said she stopped at the Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Fest on her way back to Malibu from Big Bear Lake.
Coady wanted to see some fall color so she decided to go to Big Bear Lake with her friends she met while studying abroad. Coady said Big Bear was beautiful and the leaves changed color.
Coady said the pumpkin patch at Cal Poly Pomona had a corn maze, sunflower field, food vendors, hay rides and a market. She said this was the first pumpkin patch she had been to since middle school and would be interested in trying out some of the pumpkin patches in the greater Malibu area.
In addition to going to the pumpkin patch over fall break, Coady said she watches Gilmore Girls, decorates and does anything to make it cozy — like putting a fake fireplace on the T.V. — and carves pumpkins to celebrate the fall season.
“I love fall because of the trees and the weather, fall treats such as a pumpkin cream cold brew and I love that we can start to wear cozy outfits,” Coady said.
Through the canyon, one can fuel their love of fall by attending a pumpkin patch in Calabasas at The Calabasas Pumpkin Festival ‘Celebrating Calabaza,’ “Pumpkin Party” and Nights of the Jack.
The Calabasas Pumpkin Festival “Celebrating Calabaza” has been an annual Calabasas tradition for the last 200 years, according to the City of Calabasas Community Services Department. This year, the festival took place on Oct. 22 at Juan Batista de Anza Park. It included 75 marketplace vendors, live music, food trucks and a pumpkin patch.
Another pumpkin event in Calabasas is the “Pumpkin Party” that took place this year on Oct. 28 at the Leonis Adobe Museum in Old Town Calabasas next to Sage Brush Cantina. According to the Conejo Valley Guide, the “Pumpkin Party” is an annual event with live music, crafts and more.
Nights of the Jack is another large-scale fall festival in Calabasas that took place this year from Oct. 18-31 at King Gillette Ranch. The annual festival included live pumpkin carving, food trucks and an illuminated light show.
Down PCH, students can check out Shawn’s Pumpkin Patch in Santa Monica and Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in Culver City. Students can look forward to these annual events fall of next year.
“We went to a pumpkin patch for the first time last year and really liked it,” Keaton said. “It reminds me of home.”
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Contact Samantha Wareing via Twitter (@WareingSamantha) or by email: samantha.wareing@pepperdine.edu
